


I Want One

by impalagirl, wilddragonflying



Series: Roleplays [22]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, F/M, First Time, M/M, Manipulation, Smut, Stilinski Twins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-30
Updated: 2014-12-30
Packaged: 2018-03-04 06:56:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2956589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/impalagirl/pseuds/impalagirl, https://archiveofourown.org/users/wilddragonflying/pseuds/wilddragonflying
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Middle school and most of high school sucked for the Stilinski twins; Stuart decides that senior year will be different, and Stiles gets dragged along.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Want One

Middle school was fucking brutal and fucking sucked; this was just one of those universal truths.

Put a bunch of just-entering-puberty kids together, and _something_  is not going to go well for _someone_.

Middle school was especially hard for identical twins just moving to town. Unfortunately, Beacon Hills Middle School was the domain of Jackson Whittemore, the biggest jerk to ever jerk(according to Stiles, at least). And when the Stilinski twins showed up and every teacher had trouble attempting to pronounce their first names, despite already having been told by both twins that they preferred Stiles and Stuart, Jackson pounced on it, pretty much ruining any chance the boys had of a fairly-decent middle school career immediately. Where Jackson went, so did most of the school.

Stiles made a friend soon after, though-- he nailed Jackson in the face with the tetherball during gym one day, and a boy with a crooked jaw who later introduced himself as Scott McCall stood up for him; unwilling to take two against one, Jackson backed down. Stuart found a friend in Danny, who originally started hanging out with them because he was mad at Jackson for some reason or other(it's middle school; no reason needed for drama) and never stopped because Stuart was just as much of a technology geek as Danny was.

The twins and their friends tended to eat lunch at what was colloquially known as the "outcast table," home to Vernon Boyd, who was just a loner by nature and didn't talk much; Erica Reyes, the girl with debilitating epilepsy who'd had a seizure where she wet herself taped and then posted online; and Isaac Lahey, the shy kid who rarely spoke and always flinched at loud noises and sudden movements. Stiles and Stuart weren't _friends_ with them, per se, but even the illusion of hanging out together was better than nothing.

Things didn't change too much once everyone entered high school-- Jackson was still a dickhead, Stiles and Stuart were still the odd twins that no one really knew what to do with, especially when they started jabbering in Polish at each other, and Scott and Danny and the rest of the lunch table gang still ate with the twins, although Danny alternated between them and Jackson's table, having gotten over whatever middle school drama had encouraged him to eat with them in the first place.

Their junior year, Stiles and Stuart developed crushes. Stuart, who had always had a thing for brains, was lost to Lydia, who was much, _much_ smarter than she let on. Stiles also liked Lydia-- just not quite in that way. Stiles's thing was more people-who-terrified-him, and someone who had just as much snark as he did. Not to mention that while he was bi, his fantasy-self tended to costar with other guys more than girls. No, Derek Hale was _much_ more Stiles's speed than Lydia.

The thing was, Stiles was pretty sure that Derek didn't even know that Stiles existed-- or if he did, then he didn't have any positive thoughts about Stiles at all, considering the way the other teenager was more likely to scowl at either Stilinski twin than he was to smile. So, in order to save himself the embarrassment of being rejected by the person he _really_ wanted, he started fawning over Lydia as well-- much more obviously than Stuart did, at any rate.

Scott landed himself a girlfriend, who'd been appropriated by Lydia's group, so both Stiles and Stuart got more chances to hang out with both Lydia and Derek, fat lot of good that did the twins. So at the end of junior year, the first day of summer, Stuart cornered Stiles. "We need to make some changes," he announced.

Stiles blinked. That look on Stuart's face was never a good thing. "What kind of changes?" he asked.

"We're losers," Stuart said simply. "We need to not be losers. We're going to get better over the summer, and when we go back for junior year, no one will know what hit them."

Stiles snorted. "Yeah, okay, Stu," he said. "It'd take a miracle to make us popular."

Stuart rolled his eyes. "I didn't say we were going to be _popular_ , dumbass. Just that we were going to get better. We're gonna make ourselves be noticed in a _good_ way, and maybe then Lydia will notice us and finally pick one."

Stiles grimaced. "She deserves better than you," he said, not for the first time. He believed it, too; he might not want Lydia the way that Stuart did, but he still thought she was a goddess. No one was good enough for her.

Stuart made a face. "Like you?" he retorted, and then refocused on the topic at hand. "Anyway, first things first: Buzzcuts have got to go. We're growing our hair out so we don't look like twelve-year-olds anymore. I'm done with contacts-- I still don't understand how you didn't get the weak eyesight, too-- but I'm going back to the glasses, make it easier to tell us apart. And for the love of God, you have _got_ to quit wearing plaid. It's an offense to humanity."

Stiles frowned. "I was going to grow my hair out anyway," he lied, because it was a good idea, "but I'm not changing my entire wardrobe. I _like_ plaid."

Stuart gave Stiles an unimpressed look. "Bro. We've been together since birth, and we've got that freaky twin-mind-reading-shit going on sometimes. Don't lie to me." Moving to Stiles's closet, he started rummaging through it. "Fine, whatever-- it makes you look like a fucking dork, but at least that'll give me a better chance."

"You're a dick," Stiles snapped, annoyed. "What about you? Are you going to change your wardrobe?"

Stuart paused, humming thoughtfully. "Maybe. Definitely getting rid of that one shirt Aunt Edna gave me-- I've been looking for an excuse to burn it, but nothing's come up yet. I'll have to look though, because apparently _I_ got all the fashion sense between the two of us."

"Which is, of course, way more important than being able to see," Stiles said blithely. But for all his protestations, he could see where Stuart was coming from. Maybe he wasn't completely deluded. "I don't want to make myself into something I'm not," he warned, "but I guess I could make _some_ changes."

"Excuse you, i can see just fine with my glasses," Stuart retorted, glaring at his twin. It faded out into a satisfied grin at Stiles's capitulation. "Good."

 

************

True to his word, Stiles didn't make any drastic changes that summer, but he did make some more subtle ones. He followed Stuart's lead and grew out his hair until he could achieve that _hopefully_  sexy bedhead thing that everyone seemed to be going wild for these days, and he switched out the Batman backpack he'd had for years for a simple grey one. He kept the graphic tees and the plaid shirts and the battered Converse, but he bought some skinny jeans that actually fit him. Even if he did say so himself, they made his ass look _great_.

In all honesty, though, most of the changes that Stiles made were not of the physical variety. The majority of the summer was spent hanging out at the station, bantering back and forth with his dad's deputies and whoever else happened to walk in, and listening to punk rock music that made him feel like he could take over the world. Stiles was more surprised than anyone, but it actually worked. When he walked into the school beside his brother on the first day of their senior year, he felt more confident than he ever had before. Sure, there was still the undercurrent of insecurity that he would be compared to his twin and found wanting - Stuart looked totally different as a result of his own summer revamp, and Stiles had always thought of himself as the least attractive twin - but he didn't want to crawl under a desk and hide so much anymore.

In fact, both of the Stilinski twins seemed to have grown into themselves over the course of the summer months. They held themselves differently, an air of self-assurance that had definitely not been present before now evident in the way they held their heads up high as they walked. Yes, it was subtle, but already people were noticing.

Stuart's changes were more noticeable than Stiles's-- he'd stopped wearing contacts, instead using the pair of thick-rimmed glasses that he'd always favored anyway; contacts irritated his eyes. He changed his wardrobe, and while yes, most of the new clothes fell firmly into the 'hipster' category, Stuart didn't particularly care. He liked them and thought that they made him look good.

He and Stiles walked side-by-side into the school, only breaking off when Stuart left to go talk to Danny. He walked past Allison and Lydia on the way over there, and nodded at them, playing it cool despite the way his heart pounded in his chest(his crush was still just as strong as ever) before continuing on his way.

Allison blinked. "Holy shit. That was Stuart, right?" she asked, glancing at Lydia before watching whichever-twin-it-was's ass as he walked away. "He looks good."

Lydia's eyes were on Stiles as he fumbled with his locker combination across the hall, but she hadn't been oblivious to Stuart when he'd passed. He scrubbed up well, it would seem; they both did. "I want one," she announced, her gaze lingering on Stiles for a few seconds longer before she turned to Allison. "The straight one, obviously."

Allison raised an eyebrow. "And which one would that be?" she asked, amused; she had a hard enough time telling them apart period, never mind trying to guess their sexualties..

Lydia graced Allison with a smile. "Isn't it obvious?" she asked sweetly. "But first we need to find someone for the other one."

Still a bit lost, Allison nonetheless nodded. "Fair enough," she decided. "So. Who's it gonna be?" The brunette let her gaze roam over the halls, eyeing everyone critically.

Lydia hummed thoughtfully. "Not Danny," she decided, pursing her lips. "That's too obvious. How about..." Her eyes glinted. "Derek Hale?"

"Derek?" Allison considered that for a moment. "Yeah, I can see that. Whichever one it is, they sure as hell won't be bored together." It was an open secret that Derek was at least as snarky as the Stilinski twins, if not more. "We can't be too obvious about it, though; you got a plan?"

Lydia rolled her eyes. "Of course. Hey, Danny!" She slammed her locker shut and spun gracefully on her heel, marching down the corridor to where Danny and Stuart Stilinski were still talking. Both were flashed a charming smile when they looked up to greet her. "You're sitting with us at lunch today, right?" she asked Danny. "Allison needs your opinion on a sweater she wants to buy for Scott. You can bring your little friend, of course. And his brother, too."

Danny exchanged a glance with Stuart before nodding. "Yeah, sure," he said with a grin. "Stiles doesn't have anything to do, right?"

Stuart shrugged. "Far as I know. Scott's got a different lunch, right? Kinda pointless to ask about a sweater-- I'm assuming it's for a gift-- if the recipient is right there."

"Since the recipient is _Scott_ , I don't think it would make much difference," Lydia quipped, giving Stuart an assessing look. "I'll see you at lunch. And make sure the other one is there."

:"Good point," Stuart conceded; he didn't say anything else until Lydia was walking away, and then he turned to Danny. "She usually do that?"

Danny looked amused. "It's usually assumed I spend the first lunch of the year with their group, so no. I think your plan's working."

"Huh. Wonder why she wants Stiles there, too," he mused, ignoring the slight twinge of jealousy at the fact that Lydia had even _thought_ about Stiles. "Guess we'll find out."

 

************

When Stiles walked into the cafeteria that afternoon, trying to keep an apple from rolling off his lunch tray, he was immediately accosted by his brother. "We're sitting with Lydia today," was the only information offered before Stuart left Stiles and Scott to exchange looks, shrug and trail after him.

"Uh, I don't think so." Stiles' apple hit the floor with a surprisingly loud _thump_ , and he looked up to stare open-mouthed at Lydia. Had she ever spoken directly to him before?

"Don't think what?" he asked, frantically wondering if Lydia would find it undignified if he crawled under the table after his apple.

Lydia smiled at him. "You sit next to Scott every day," she told him, patting the seat beside her. "I want you to sit next to me."

The apple was forgotten. Stiles scrambled around the table and all but fell into the seat beside Lydia, unable to believe his luck. However, Lydia quickly joined the apple and the rest of the world at the very back of his mind when he looked up. Derek Hale was sitting opposite him.

Derek eyed Lydia curiously; she was up to something. After a couple of years at the 'popular' table thanks to his position as captain of the varsity basketball team, Derek knew when Lydia was planning something. She definitely was now, and it involved the Stilinski twins. He wasn't sure which one was her target-- and for all he knew, she could have something planned involving both-- but he was pretty confident that it was no accident that she'd sat Stiles down across from him. Especially not considering that he'd mentioned to her at some point last year during a party that both twins had amazing asses that he wouldn't mind tapping.

Stiles's apple had rolled across the floor to bump against Derek's foot, and he bent down to pick it up, buffing it on his shirt before passing it over to Stiles. "Shut your mouth; you'll catch flies," he said gruffly before turning to Jackson and pretending to be interested in what the other guy was saying.

Allison had patted the empty seat on her other side-- Scott, of course, was on her left. "Stuart, you're sitting here," she said sweetly; the chair in question was directly across from Lydia.

Stiles shut his mouth with a snap, his cheeks flaming. He supposed he should be pleased that Lydia had wanted him to sit next to her, although it was Stuart she was going to be looking at for most of lunch thanks to the seat assigned to him, but he couldn't help but resent the whole situation. It wasn't news that his affections would never be returned, but having actual proof rankled more than he'd care to admit. Derek hated him.

Lunch was, in a word, weird. Not that Stuart was _complaining_ ; he did get to sit across from Lydia and occasionally snark at her, after all. He did wonder about the hurt look that flickered over Stiles's face after Derek gave him his apple back-- what was that about? Whatever it was, Stuart was more concerned with trying to figure out _why_  Lydia had invited them to eat at her table. He didn't get an answer that day-- not that he was expecting one-- but he wasn't going to give up.

After lunch, they'd all split up except for Stuart and Lydia; they both had AP Calculus that period; Stiles had it before lunch. "So, what do you figure the odds will be that Mrs. Myril will give homework the first day?" Stuart asked casually as they walked down the hall.

"Hmm, slim to none," Lydia answered with her usual air of superiority. "Mrs Myril is a bitch, but she also hates repeating herself, and we're the only two people in our class who would be able to handle homework on whatever she introduces today." She cut her gaze to Stuart and gave him a smug smile. "Everyone else would screw it up, meaning she'd have to teach today's lesson again. She'll set the homework tomorrow."

Stuart pursed his lips thoughtfully. "True; but then again, if she has to repeat herself, she'll take it as an opportunity to bitch out whoever doesn't get it. Remember how she treated Greenberg last year in Pre-Calc?"

Lydia rolled her eyes. "Greenberg is the whipping boy of every teacher in this place," she pointed out. "Except for Harris. He seems to favour your brother for that particular position."

Stuart made a face. "Remind me to fuck up his supply cabinet for that on the last day of school," he muttered. He'd never liked the fact that Harris targeted his brother for no reason other than the fact that Stiles had a chronic inability to keep his mouth shut. Greenberg at least did stupid shit to warrant the teachers being frustrated with him. Returning to the topic at hand, he had to concede the point. "Fair enough."

Lydia smiled, pleased. "I hope you know we're sitting together in this class."

At _that_ , Stuart started and then stared at Lydia for a moment before remembering to collect himself and act like nothing weird was happening-- despite the fact that _Lydia_  had just told him that he was sitting with her. Stuart wasn't going to lie; he liked being ordered around a bit by her. No, he wasn't going to think too hard on it in the middle of school. "All right, cool," he said, trying to pass it off as a normal, everyday occurrence.

Lydia wasn't fooled, but she did him the favour of letting him think she was. "Cool," she agreed, and led the way into the classroom.

 

************

Stiles had all but bolted from the lunchroom when the bell rang, and Derek was quick to follow him-- and _goddamn_ , Derek may have played basketball, but Stiles should be on the track team; that boy could _move._  Derek only managed to catch up with him a few halls from Derek's next class, and unfortunately his brain, apparently, had decided to take a break while he was catching up to Stiles, because the first thing he came up with to start a conversation was, "So, what's your name?" He immediately felt like opening the nearest locker door and slamming his face into a couple of times.

Stiles had to do a double take. Derek hated him without even knowing his name? "Uh, it's Stiles," he answered awkwardly.

Yeah no the embarrassment wasn't going away anytime soon. "No, I know that," he said impatiently, rolling his eyes. "I meant, who the hell names their kid 'Stiles'? At least Stuart's name is normal."

Stiles snorted, and allowed his own tongue to soothe the ache Derek's words had left behind. "No one deserves to be subjected to the consonants to vowels ratio that is my real name," he snapped. "And I hate to burst your bubble of superiority, but Stuart isn't my brother's real name either. Actually, his has even less vowels than mine."

Derek blinked. "Then why the hell would _you_  choose 'Stiles', then?" he retorted. "What the hell even _is_  a 'Stiles'?"

Stiles squinted at Derek. "I've been Stiles since I was four," he said, enunciating slowly and clearly. "If you wanna insult me, you're going to have to do better than that."

Later, Derek would realize that he might have been able to salvage the situation if he'd just apologized. Instead, what he did was roll his eyes and scoff before walking into his next class, where he promptly sat down and proceeded to drop his forehead to the desk several times before leaving it there and grumbling to himself under his breath. He glared at Boyd when the other teen threw a ball of paper at him and raised an eyebrow, and then returned to sulking. _Just fucking great,_  he thought sourly, banging his forehead on the desktop one more time for good measure. _Now he thinks I'm a dick and that I hate him._

Derek was not wrong. By the time he got to his own class, Stiles was in a foul mood, and he dropped into his seat next to Scott like a particularly dejected stone. "I don't want to talk about it," he muttered before Scott could ask, and when his friend just continued to look at him with those puppydog eyes of his, he just turned away.

Scott, however, wasn't about to let it go-- he and Stiles weren't in the same class next block, but their classes were right next to each other. So Scott made sure that he was out of the room before Stiles, and then grabbed him by the arm before Stiles could dart off. "Dude, what happened?" he asked, concerned. "Was it something to do with Derek? Do I need to get Allison to kick him in the nuts?"

Stiles snorted, his gaze skittering away from Scott's face. "Why would I be upset over anything Derek did?" he asked. "It's nothing, man. I'm just pissed that Lydia and Stuart went off arm-in-arm after lunch."

Scott hesitated for another moment before releasing his grip on Stiles's arm. "All right, dude, but seriously-- Allison will kick him in the nuts. Or maybe shoot him; she's been complaining that she hasn't been able to get out to the range lately." He squeezed Stiles's shoulder. "But if you want to talk, then I'm here."

Stiles smiled. "Thanks bro," he said sincerely. "I gotta run, okay? But I'll see you later."

"Yeah, sure," Scott said. "I gotta get to class too; I actually want to start the year off right this time." With one last reassuring pat, Scott took off down the hall.

 

************

Stuart was waiting for Stiles next to the Jeep they shared. "So, how'd your day go after lunch?" he asked as his twin unlocked the car.

Stiles eyed Stuart suspiciously. "It went fine," he said, his tone a little too sharp. "Yours?"

Stuart raised an eyebrow at Stiles's tone before smirking and shrugging. "Oh, not bad," he said, climbing into the Jeep and buckling his seatbelt. "Math with Lydia was good, everything else was just boring."

"Math _with_  Lydia?" Stiles asked, releasing the clutch a little too quickly and having to slam back on as they started to roll backwards. "Like, you sat together?"

"Mhm," Stuart hummed, grabbing onto the dashboard for support. "She just told me we were sitting together and we did." He didn't bother trying to hide the smugness from his voice.

Stiles tried not to show how much that bugged him, and failed. "And how did that work out for you?" he asked tightly as he started to back out of their space, on purpose this time.

"Yup," Stuart answered with a shit-eating grin, popping the 'p' obnoxiously. "Didn't talk much, but she did tell me that she wasn't going to be sitting with any plebians this year."

"So it was a one-time deal then?" Stiles sniped. "Shame."

Stuart stuck his tongue out at Stiles. "No, jackass. She told me I wasn't to let any of them get the seat next to her."

Stiles' hands tightened on the wheel. "Well, enjoy it while it lasts, I guess."

Stuart's grin widened. "Oh, I will. I definitely will."

 

************

Over the next week or so, Lydia and Allison didn't give up on their plan to get Stiles and Derek together-- despite the fact that it clearly was having no success so far. In fact, it seemed like anytime either teenager got within five feet of the other, the insults would start flying until both were walking off in a huff.

At least, that was what happened until Jackson made a crack about how much Stiles had sucked on the lacrosse team last year, and that he was only good for benchwarming.

Derek surprised even himself by snapping out, "Shut the fuck up, Jackson. Have you _seen_  Stiles run? There are other sports out there besides lacrosse, dickwad. Like track, or cross -country, which I'm willing to bet Stiles would be _great_ at."

Stiles knew that the others were watching him, but he only had eyes for Derek. "You think I should try out for track?" he asked, only a little breathless.

Derek shrugged, a bit uncomfortable with just how intensely everyone was now watching him. It hadn't been _that_  weird for Derek to stick up for Stiles, had it? "Well, yeah-- you run like a fucking cheetah. I noticed it when the coaches made us all run laps last year after Greenberg broke the sprinklers in the gym. You finished before everyone, but stuck with Scott until he was done."

Scott grinned at that. "Hey, yeah, I remember that," he agreed. "You are pretty fast-- maybe you should try out for track. You'd be pretty good at it. Just stay away from the hurdles," he added teasingly.

Stiles flushed, but gave Derek a tentative smile. "Yeah, I might do that. Thanks, man."

Derek was extremely grateful for the fact that he wasn't as fair-skinned as Stiles; at least his blush didn't show up as prominently. "No problem," he muttered, ducking his head.

Lydia and Allison exchanged triumphant grins.

 

************

Things improved over the next few weeks. Stiles successfully tried out for the track team, and shared a bag of chips with Derek over the lunch table by way of a thank you. He caught Lydia's gaze at one point as he dipped his hand into the bag and thought she looked weirdly smug, but when he looked again she was back to making moon-eyes at his brother. That was one thing that hadn't changed; Stuart was still quite comfortably attached to Lydia's hip, and he _loved_  rubbing it in Stiles' face. Not that Stiles cared, other than the feeling that Lydia was seriously lowering her standards in entertaining Stuart, but, well. He may or may not have been putting even more effort into this Lydia thing than usual, as a way of dealing with the sudden attention that Derek seemed to be gracing him with.

Which was why he lit up like a Christmas tree when Lydia addressed him directly at lunch one day.

"So Stiles," she began, turning to him with a suspiciously wide smile. "What are we doing this weekend?"

Stiles choked. "W-we? This weekend?" he spluttered attractively. "Umm."

Lydia rolled her eyes. "Not _just_ us," she clarified impatiently, making Stiles' stomach swoop with something closer to relief than disappointment. "All of us. Me, Stuart, Allison, Scott, you... Derek." Her smile got even wider. "So what are we doing?"

"Umm. H-how..."

"Great!" Lydia turned to the rest of the table, beaming. "Bowling!"

Stuart hadn't missed the way Lydia listed them off-- Him and her, Allison and Scott, and Stiles and Derek. It could be a coincidence, but part of Stuart doubted that _anything_  Lydia did or said was the result of a coincidence. Still, he agreed, "Bowling sounds good." He glanced at the others who'd been listed, and Allison and Scott didn't hesitate to chorus their agreement, and even Derek said yes after a heavy, expectant silence. Something told Stuart he was really only saying yes because it was _Lydia_  who'd announced the plan-- no one really said no to Lydia.

 

************

Stiles knew that was the only reason Scott had agreed too, and he told Derek as much as they walked into the bowling alley together that Saturday. "Scott is a _terrible_  bowler," he said seriously. "Like, I don't think I'll be able to watch when it's his turn, lest I die of secondhand embarrassment." Lydia waved when she spotted them, and he waved back, mildly unnerved by the way she and Allison collapsed into giggles. "Are you a good bowler?"

Derek shrugged, sidestepping a couple heading out as they walked to the counter to pay for their rented shoes and admission. "Pretty good. Laura's better-- but then again, she's absolutely horrible when she loses. I think everyone throws the game whenever she plays. I usually bowl around one-fifty to two hundred." He told the guy at the counter his shoe size and handed over his money, waiting for Stiles to do the same and for them to receive their shoes.

Lydia was on her feet when they joined the rest of the group, and she turned to look at them with a determined set to her expression. "Teams," she announced. Stiles automatically moved towards Stuart, who he was normally left to team up with, but Lydia grabbed his arm to stop him. "Stuart's with me," she said sweetly. "You're with Derek."

Derek didn't trust Lydia's tone-- but he wasn't about to argue. So instead, he shrugged and looked at Stiles questioningly; he wouldn't mind having Stiles on his team. It wasn't like Allison and Scott were going to work with anyone else, and since Lydia had already staked her claim on Stuart…

Stiles met Derek's gaze and nodded. "Okay," he said, turning to grin at his brother. "You're going _down_."

Stuart rolled his eyes as Lydia let go of Stiles's arm only to take his to tug him towards what he assumed was the lane she wanted to play at that night; Derek didn't miss the smug look Stuart sent Stiles over his shoulder, and looked at the other twin questioningly. "Why'd he do that?"

Stiles snorted. "Because he gets to be on Lydia's team and I don't."

"Oh." Derek firmly told himself that no, that wasn't anything remotely like disappointment pinching his stomach. "So that's a, uh, thing, then? Between you two?"

"What, the rivalry?" Stiles laughed. "Not really anymore. I'm pretty sure he's won."

Derek shrugged. "Doesn't mean you can't still like her," he pointed out, walking over to the rack that housed the bowling balls and selecting a yellow eight-pounder.

Stiles watched Derek as he stepped up to bowl, but he was too busy looking at his ass to have any idea how he fared. He finally snapped back to reality when Derek turned away from the lane, and hastily checked the scoreboard. "Hey! You did great!"

Derek returned the grin. "Thanks," he said-- eight and a spare wasn't bad. "Your turn."

Stiles grabbed a ball and got into position, trying to block everything around him out as he prepared to take his shot. However, just as he was about to bowl, a shrill voice broke through his concentration. "Good luck, Stiles!" He fumbled the ball.

Derek glared at Allison, who smiled back innocently. "Here," he said, stepping closer and poking and prodding Stiles's limbs into the proper position. No way was he getting all up in Stiles's space; he didn't even know if Stiles liked guys. "You'll do fine. Just remember to keep your wrist straight."

"I know how to bowl, thanks," Stiles snapped, flustered. It wasn't like Derek had been all over him, but the little contact he'd initiated was enough to knock him off his guard.

Derek stepped back, raising his hands in a placating manner. "All right. Show us what you've got then."

Stiles felt bad, but he didn't apologise. Instead, he did just what Derek suggested, and released his ball, rolling it straight down the middle. It knocked down all but one pin, which he nailed on the next try, and he turned back to Derek with a smile. "Told you."

Derek returned the smile with a grin of his own. "So you did," he agreed.

Stuart watched them intently. "Derek seems to like Stiles," he commented to Lydia. "Don't think I've ever seen him smile that much before."

Lydia hummed thoughtfully. "Do you think Stiles likes Derek?" she asked.

Stuart's focus shifted to his twin, and after a moment he shrugged. "Hard to tell. Stiles has always been a bit... hard to read when it comes to who he likes. Except for you."

Lydia smiled. "You like rubbing it in his face, don't you?"

Stuart smirked. "What else are siblings for?" he asked as Allison whispered something into Scott's ear that made him stiffen and then go loose in a very telling way.

Lydia regarded the other couple with some amusement, just long enough to see Scott score a strike, before turning back to Stuart. "Maybe you should be a little nicer about it," she suggested casually. "We are going to break his little heart, after all."

"Oh are we?" Stuart asked, turning to look at Lydia more fully as Allison took her turn.

"If he's as into me as you think he is," Lydia answered.

Stuart tilted his head to the side for a moment, thinking. "Definitely a possibility," he agreed. Then it was his turn to bowl, and he grinned cheekily. "Are you going to help me like Allison did?"

Lydia pursed her lips. "If you need it then maybe I picked the wrong brother."

Stuart raised one eyebrow, but conceded the point, picking his own ball and taking his time aiming. To him, it was a matter of calculation, and he was rewarded with a strike. "I think you picked the right one," he grinned as he moved back towards the others.

Lydia grinned back, aware of Stiles' gaze on them as she smacked a kiss onto Stuart's cheek. "So do I."

 

************

Derek and Stiles ended up coming in last, but it was a very close game. Still, the few points difference didn't stop Stuart from crowing all the way out into the parking lot. Derek just rolled his eyes, and then laid a hand on Stiles's shoulder, making the other teenager slow his steps in order to keep pace with Derek. "I had fun tonight," he said, offering Stiles a small grin.

Stiles smiled back, trying to ignore the way his heart fucking _fluttered_. "Me too," he said honestly. "We should do it again, only next time we have to _thrash_ my brother."

Derek laughed. "Definitely," he grinned. He could totally understand sibling rivalry-- probably better than Stiles, considering Derek had a couple of siblings. "I'd like to hang out with you again," he added, voice betraying how hopeful he felt. He really did have a lot of fun tonight. "Maybe a movie? I know that there's a new Marvel movie coming out next week."

Stiles' eyes lit up. "Oh man, I'm dying to see that!" he exclaimed. "Yeah, I'm totally up for that, and Scott and Danny will be, too."

Derek quickly squashed the feeling of disappointment when Stiles brought up Danny and Scott. "Yeah, sure," he said instead, his smile just a bit forced now. "It comes out on Thursday-- I've never been to a midnight premiere. You wanna do that?"

"Hell yes!" Stiles cried, but then his face fell. "Except Scott won't be allowed to, and Danny won't want to because of school."

"We could always go, just the two of us," Derek suggested; he really wasn't all that disappointed that Scott and Danny wouldn't be able to make it, but he made himself act like he was at least _slightly_ put out.

"You think?" Stiles asked. "I guess they can always go see it that night after school, so they won't be too mad... And I've always wanted to go to a midnight showing."

Derek shrugged. "I know my parents won't care too much-- as long as I don't start fights or something in school, they usually don't mind me staying out late every once in a while." Actually, in this case, they'd probably see it as a date-- not that Derek really _wanted_ it to be a date, he didn't think-- and let him stay out as long as he wanted to. "If it's cool with your dad, I can drive us?"

Stiles shrugged. "My dad'll be at work, so he'll be cool with it," he said. "He knows I'd only sneak out anyway so he might as well give me permission."

Derek grinned at that. "Well, guess it's a date," he said casually.

Stiles couldn't help but wince at the term. _Yeah, he wished_. "Great," he said weakly. "Can't wait."

 

************

As Derek had predicted, his family hadn't been able to stop cooing over Derek finally asking someone out on a date-- Derek didn't bother protesting; he knew from Laura's experience that the more he protested, the more convicted they would get. So instead he would just hum idly whenever it was brought up, and luckily by the time Thursday came around, Peter and Laura were the only two who were still pestering Derek about it.

Derek had managed to wrangle the Camaro keys from Laura-- _no_ , he did not want to impress Stiles; the Camaro would just be easier to park than his mom's Suburban or his dad's Dakota-- and at eleven o'clock on the dot, he was parking outside of the Stilinski house. Derek sent a text to Stiles to let him know that he had arrived.

Stuart, of course, had been keeping an eye out for Derek's car since ten-thirty. He alerted Stiles to Derek's arrival before the text did. "Boyfriend's here!" he called cheerfully up the stairs. "Better not keep him waiting, Sti!"

"Don't call me that," Stiles snapped as he rushed to grab his jacket. "And don't call him that! He's _not_ my boyfriend."

Stuart just laughed. "Have fun, bro," he grinned, clapping Stiles on the back. "And don't put out on the first date-- it's not classy."

Stiles elbowed Stuart sharply in the ribs and then darted out of the door before he had time to react. "Drive!" he yelled at Derek as he leapt into the car. "Go now!"

Raising an eyebrow, Derek quickly checked for oncoming traffic before complying. Once they were a few minutes away and Stiles seemed to have calmed down a bit, Derek asked, "Let me guess: Stuart?"

Stiles laughed. "He was being a dick so I hit him right as I was leaving," he confessed. "I'm gonna get it when I get home."

Derek shook his head with a smile. "Siblings, right?" he chuckled. "My uncle and oldest sister kept teasing me about this being a date. I'm guessing Stuart did the same?"

Stiles felt his mouth go dry. "Uh, yeah," he answered after a beat. "Yeah. Crazy, right?"

Derek shrugged before flipping off the guy who didn't turn off his brights. "My family's a bunch of assholes and they know I'm bi," he explained. "So it's not too crazy for them to think this is a date."

"You're bi?" Stiles asked, his eyes widening. "And they're okay with it?"

"Yeah. My family's never really had much reason to be homophobic." There wasn't a lot Stiles could say to that, so he fell back against his seat and kept quiet. Until... "How did you know?"

Derek glanced over at Stiles, startled by the question. Returning his gaze to the road, he drummed his fingers thoughtfully on the steering wheel, debating how honest he should be with the other teenager. After a moment, he decided to fuck it. "Realized I was watching the men as much as the women in porn," he admitted, flushing slightly. "Did some research and some... experimenting. That's how I knew."

"Experimenting?" Stiles pressed, feeling his own cheeks heat. "So you've... with a guy?"

Derek shook his head quickly. "No, but, uh... You can do it to yourself. And there's toys."

Stiles kind of wanted to die, but he just couldn't stop himself from talking. "And it's... good?" he asked. "I mean, you like it?"

Derek wasn't quite sure how they'd gotten here, but he wasn't going to tell Stiles to shut up, not if the other teenager was unsure of his own sexuality. It had helped Derek to be able to ask all the questions he wanted answers to, even though Peter had been an ass and teased him mercilessly. "Yeah, I like it," he admitted. "It's, uh, it takes a bit of stretching and practice, but it's good. I think so, at least. Not everyone thinks so."

_Jesus._ Stiles blew out a breath and shifted in his seat, hoping that Derek couldn't see that he was chubbing up. "Interesting," he said at last, his voice just a fraction too high. "Umm. Thanks, I guess."

Derek shrugged one shoulder, his ears hot. "No problem."

Stiles stayed quiet for the rest of the ride, lost in his thoughts.

 

************

The movie was amazing, and Derek and Stiles discussed it the entire way back to the Stilinski house. Once there, the conversation stalled, became awkward. Without really thinking it though, Derek blurted out, "If you wanna talk about-- whatever-- then that's fine."

Stiles hesitated, his hand on the car door. "What makes you think I'd need to?" he asked quietly.

Derek shrugged, flushing slightly. "Just. Um. I don't know? Just in case, I guess."

Stiles gave Derek a soft smile. "I'm pretty sure I've already worked it out," he confessed. "I'm just not ready for everyone to know."

Derek nodded in understanding. "I won't say anything," he promised.

"Thanks," Stiles said softly, with a glance toward his house. The windows were dark; his dad wasn't home yet, but he wasn't fooled into thinking that Stuart was asleep. "I should go in."

Derek glanced out the window before nodding. "Yeah. Probably," he agreed. "I guess I'll see you in school?"

”Yeah." They were both talking quietly, and Stiles wasn't oblivious to the sense of intimacy enveloping the two of them. It scared him; he popped the door and the moment was broken. "Goodnight," he murmured, and got out of the car.

 

************

Derek and Stiles started hanging out more after that-- Stiles asked a few more questions, more innocuous than that first night, but for the most part Derek and Stiles discussed comics, movies, actors, and books-- occasionally making fun of each other's sports as well. About a month after their first non-date(Peter and Laura still hadn't given up on teasing him about Stiles), Stiles was coming to pick Derek up; he and Stiles were going to the next town over, which had a better theater which was playing another movie they were going to see.

When Stiles drove up, Derek wasn't quick enough out the door-- Peter had already opened it as as Derek scurried to the Jeep, Peter yelled just loud enough for Stiles to hear, "Be safe and use protection!"

Derek shut the door harder than necessary, gritting his teeth. The teasing was starting to wear on his nerves. "Gotta admit I didn't think Peter would still be going on about that."

Stiles laughed weakly. "He still convinced we're dating?" he asked.

"So's Laura," Derek said, picking at a loose thread on his seat belt. "Tried telling them once that we weren't but... Well, you can see how well _that_ worked."

Stiles looked away, his heart pounding as he gathered all of his courage. "Would it be so bad if we were?"

Derek looked at Stiles, startled. After a moment, he let a hesitant smile curve his mouth. "No, it wouldn't," he said quietly.

"Really?" Stiles met Derek's gaze and returned his smile. "I think I'd like that."

Derek's smile grew. "I'd like that, too. So-- this is a date, then?" He wanted to be absolutely sure.

"I think they've all been dates," Stiles admitted, flushing slightly.

Derek couldn't really deny that. "Yeah, well-- at least this time we'll know it's a date," he offered, grinning.

Stiles beamed. "Your uncle's still watching us," he pointed out, looking just over Derek's shoulder at the face peering at them through parted curtains. He gave Peter a cheerful wave and pulled away from the house. "He's kind of creepy, you know that?"

Derek pulled a face. "Ugh, I know-- I think he was dropped on his head when he was child. He actually painted a message on Laura's girlfriend's car when they started getting serious. Luckily Amy's got a sense of humor. She painted his bedroom in neon pink when he was out of town one day."

Stiles snorted a laugh. "It sounds like Laura has great taste."

"She does," Derek agreed, smiling as he thought of his sister and her girlfriend. "Amy's a lot of fun; she actually started a food fight when she came over for dinner for the first time. Her and Laura are a good match-- they balance each other."

"So Laura's... more reserved?" Stiles hazarded.

Derek nodded. "Yeah. She can be outgoing, but she definitely isn't the kind to start shit for fun. If she feels it's deserved-- like for revenge or whatever-- but not just because." Derek's family was a bit odd, but he loved it.

"She sounds great," Stiles said honestly. "I wish my sibling didn't start shit for fun."

"Yeah?" Derek asked, tilting his head curiously. "What does Stuart do?"

"Anything that he knows will cause me anxiety," Stiles answered. "He totally felt Lydia up right in front of me yesterday."

"Oh?" Derek wasn't quite sure how he felt about that... "Did it work?"

Stiles cut his gaze to Derek. "Oh yeah. I nearly exploded with jealousy."

Derek was about seventy-five percent sure that Stiles was messing with him-- but Stiles _had_ had a crush on Lydia. "Oh. Well, glad to see you survived."

Stiles took a hand off the wheel to smack Derek's thigh. "Dude!" he cried. "I'm not into Lydia; I never was!"

"Ow!" Derek jumped, rubbing the spot where Stiles had hit him-- that had _hurt_. Then Stiles's words sank in. "Wait, what? Then why the hell is Stuart trying to make you jealous?"

"Because I let him think I'm into Lydia." Stiles rolled his eyes. "Keep up, Derek."

Yeah no. Derek was thoroughly confused now. "Wait," he said, scrubbing a hand over his face. "So. You never really liked Lydia? Then why pretend?"

"I told you," Stiles said slowly. "I wasn't ready for everyone to know."

_Oh_. That... actually made a lot of sense, now that Derek thought about it that way-- he hadn't thought that Stiles would _pretend_ to like someone to keep his sexuality hidden, but... Well, Derek could understand that.

"Oh," he said sheepishly, flushing. "Right. Sorry." He blew out a slightly-shaky breath. "Sorry," he repeated.

Stiles frowned. "What for?" he asked. "I didn't want anyone to know, so no one did. That includes you."

Derek shrugged. "Panicking?" he offered-- because it was true. He had panicked, just a bit. "I just... I've noticed you for a while." Derek had-- he hadn't actually started _liking_ Stiles until he'd started spending time with the other teenager, but even before the Stilinski twins gave themselves a new style, Derek had noticed Stiles, and he'd always thought that Stiles seemed pretty cool(and okay, Derek might have fantasised more than once about putting Stiles's oral fixation to better use than a pen could). "I know it makes me sound like a bit of a dick, but I just... I didn't like the thought of you liking someone even though we're dating."

Stiles took Derek's hand and held it over the gear stick. "It's okay," he said. "I wouldn't like it either. But while I think Lydia is amazing, that's as far as it goes."

Derek nodded, squeezing Stiles's hand lightly. "Okay. I believe you."

 

************

By the time they got out of the theatre, Stiles couldn't even remember what movie they'd been to see, let alone whether or not it was any good. The entire time they'd been sat together in the dark, their ears assaulted by the various explosions happening on screen, all Stiles had been aware of was Derek beside him; the way their knees were pressed together and the way Derek's hand brushed his when he reached for the coke they were sharing. Once the movie was over they'd been too busy sharing shy smiles and touches that were even more shy, before Stiles had enough with playing chicken and just grabbed Derek's hand. They didn't let go until they reached the car.

It was all very juvenile and cliché, but honestly, Stiles loved it. Derek gave him butterflies, made him feel giddy and nervous and excited all at once, and he was finally starting to understand why Scott and Allison were always staring at each other with disgustingly soppy expressions. Dating was _fun_ ; spending time with someone that made him feel like this was even more so.

They talked all the way back to town, but not about the movie; it turned out that Derek couldn't remember what had happened either. Instead, Stiles learned more about Derek's family, and Stiles offered up some information of his own, revealing that Stuart hadn't always been such a colossal dick and confessing that he suspected their mother's death had hit him even harder than it had hit Stiles. They arrived at Derek's house far too soon, however, and the conversation turned to 'goodnight'.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" Stiles asked uncertainly, although he knew the answer. He drummed his fingers on the wheel and looked out through the windscreen to avoid Derek's gaze.

The night had been incredibly fun, and Derek didn't want it to end. Unfortunately, it was already late and he could see Peter and Cora attempting to subtly spy on him and Stiles through the living room curtains. "Yeah," he said, smiling. After a moment, he poked Stiles in the shoulder. "Hey, Stiles?"

Stiles turned to look at him. "Yeah?"

Derek unbuckled and then leaned across the seat, pressing his lips to Stiles's in a gentle kiss. "I had fun. And I plan on doing this again soon."

Stiles made a soft, surprised sound, and smiled. "Me too," he murmured.

Derek grinned. "Good night," he said, pressing in for another quick kiss before climbing out of the Jeep and heading towards the house; everyone was going to have a field day with what Cora and Peter had probably just witnessed.

Stiles watched Derek until he was safely inside, and then spent the drive home in a daze. Derek liked him; Derek had kissed him. He felt like the luckiest guy alive - until he pulled into his driveway and realised that he was going to have to face his brother. _Great_.

Stuart didn't believe in the 'psychic connection between brothers' shit, but he could tell something was up when Stiles walked through the door. The other twin shoved himself upright on the couch (he had been hanging upside down over the edge) and narrowed his eyes at Stiles. "Spill," he demanded. "What'd Derek do?"

"Nothing," Stiles answered, a little too quickly. "Nothing. Why?"

Stuart raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh. C'mon, Sti, you can tell me-- I know Derek had to do something, you're practically _glowing_."

"It-- it was a good movie," Stiles stuttered, defensive. He could feel his cheeks heating. "Derek had loads to say about it. That's all, _Stu_."

"What movie did you go see?" Stuart challenged, ignoring the nickname Stiles only pulled out when he was trying to distract Stuart. Any other time it might have worked, but this was the seventh time Stiles and Derek had hung out together, one-on-one, in the past month.

"Um." Stiles felt himself stall, his mind racing but getting him nowhere. "Some... action movie?"

Stuart imagined the look on his face was rather similar to the Grinch's when he got the idea to steal Christmas. "Oh really? You're usually all over those-- but you can't remember the name? Derek must have distracted you _really_ well."

Stiles frowned. "Oh, shut up," he spat. "You're exactly the same when you've been out with Lydia."

" _Ha_!" Stuart crowed, victorious. "You just compared you and Derek to me and Lydia! Dude did you guys finally pull your heads out of your asses?"

Stiles opened his mouth, and then closed it again. "What do you mean?" he asked finally.

"Stiles, bro, I love you, but you can be dense as fuck sometimes. You and Derek have been going on dates for the past month-- did you finally figure it out and do something about it?"

"Maybe?" Stiles hedged, but then he thought, _fuck it_. "Yes. Yes, we did something about it. Tonight was definitely a date, and he kissed me when I dropped him off."

Stuart grinned. "Nice-- now we won't have to deal with you and Derek pining over each other. Just don't turn into Scott and Allison, otherwise I'll disown you."

Stiles scoffed. "As _if_. But wait." He levelled Stuart with a suspicious stare. "How did you know?"

Stuart smirked. "I'm the oldest, bro. I know everything."

Stiles rolled his eyes. "You're older by a minute and thirty seven seconds; that is bullshit and you know it."

Stuart stuck out his tongue. "Still older than you," he retorted. "And you were practically the Star of Elendril, bro."

"Elendil," Stiles corrected automatically. "Also, fuck you."

"Nope, I've got Lydia for that," Stuart countered easily. "Besides, not into incest."

Stiles pulled a face. "Do you ever stop being a smartass?"

Stuart just grinned.

 

************

The next day at lunch saw Derek sitting down next to Stiles and giving him an almost-shy smile. "Hey," he said, wanting to lean over and kiss the other boy, but unsure of just how much Stiles was willing to put up with while they were in public.

"Hey," Stiles said back, and took Derek's hand. "Having a good day?"

Derek's smile widened, and he nodded. "Yeah. Harris is a dick, but no surprise there."

"Tell me about it," Stiles said earnestly.

Lydia approached the table then, hesitating when she saw that her usual seat was occupied. She collected herself soon enough and sat beside Stuart, but her eyes were on Stiles' and Derek's hands.

Stuart noticed where Lydia's gaze was, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and leaned in to murmur, "They finally pulled their heads out of their asses last night."

Lydia smiled smugly. "I knew they would," she murmured, and kissed him.

Stuart smiled into the kiss, and Derek mimed gagging. "We don't need another Scott and Allison, guys," he teased. "They give us enough sappiness for the whole table." He squeezed Stiles's hand reassuringly; he wouldn't care if he and Stiles turned into Scott and Allison-- hell, he wanted to be able to show off his boyfriend, show everyone that Stiles was his.

Lydia turned to pin Derek with a shrewd look. "Please," she scoffed. "If anyone here is going to top their sap levels, it's you."

Derek considered that for a moment before turning to Stiles. "What do you think?"

Stiles hummed thoughtfully. "I think maybe," he confessed with a sly smile. "But I think I don't care."

Derek grinned, leaning over to kiss Stiles. "Me either," he declared.

"Woah!" Scott cried then, causing them both to break apart. "What the hell was that?!"

Derek raised an eyebrow. "That was a kiss, Scott. I would think you'd know what that is," he said dryly.

Scott looked offended. "Well, yeah. But _why_?"

"Well, Scott, when two people like each other very much-- " Stuart started, but Derek cut him off.

"Stiles and I are dating," he said, raising their joined hands.

Scott's jaw dropped. "You're _what_?"

"Dating, Scott," Stiles repeated, his heart starting to pound when Scott turned to him with accusation in his eyes.

"You didn't tell me you were bi!"

Stiles dropped his gaze to the table. This was it. "Because I'm not," he mumbled.

At Stiles's confession, the whole table stopped. Derek squeezed his boyfriend's hand reassuringly before looking up. Stuart was the first to make a comment. "Well, just about anyone would go gay for Derek," he mused.

Derek glared at him. "Sexuality's not exactly a choice," he snapped. Even Lydia was giving Stuart an unimpressed look at his comment.

"Well, congrats Stiles," Danny said, offering a grin. "Everyone here could see the way you and Derek were mooning over each other."

Scott was still staring at Stiles, but Stiles looked away, to Danny. "Thanks," he said with a small smile. "I'm pretty happy."

"Me, too," Derek added, grinning at Stiles. Secretly, he hoped they hadn't made Scott's brain implode-- he had English after this, he couldn't afford to miss that because his brain was broken.

It took a few moments, but eventually Scott showed signs of life. He winced, which made Stiles suspect that Lydia or maybe Allison had kicked him beneath the table, and forced a smile of his own. "That's great," he said at last. "I'm glad you're happy. Both of you."

Derek took it. "Thank you," he said, smiling at Scott.

 

************

A month later and Stiles was really, really happy. Pretty much everyone at school knew that he and Derek were an item now, but being out hadn't brought the terror that Stiles had imagined it would. Jackson looked like he had a few things to say sometimes, but a sharp look from Danny always silenced him in advance; even the biggest asshole in the world couldn't pick on the gay kid when his best friend was also gay. The bane of Stiles' existence aside, everyone else had taken the news fairly well. Scott was hurt that Stiles hadn't told him first, but they hugged it out and a WoW marathon smoothed over any remaining wrinkles in their friendship - and now that he was no longer pretending to be madly in love with her, Lydia had become his friend. He still thought she was amazing and terrifying in equal measure, but she seemed to like that about him.

Things with Derek were going great - they'd been on several more dates and had even crammed in a steamy make out session on Stiles' bed before the sheriff came home and Derek had to climb out of Stiles' window - but things _for_  Derek were not doing so well. He'd been distant lately, distracted, and Stiles knew that he was under a lot of pressure at home to bring his grades up. Stiles didn't think they were so bad, but he'd heard that Derek's place on the basketball team might be in jeopardy if things kept getting worse.

"Oh, Derek?" Stiles looked up at the sound of Scott's voice to find him peering around Allison and Jackson. "Can I see your history homework? I did not understand the third section.”

Derek shrugged, handing it over. "I'm not sure how much help it'll be," he said sheepishly. "I didn't exactly understand it either." Derek's grades were slipping in History, but everything else was holding steady at mostly B's in every other subject-- except for Spanish, which he was acing. None of the grades were bad enough to seriously jeopardize his place on the basketball team, but both he and his parents were worried enough to seek help. "I don't start with my tutor until next week."

"You have a tutor?" Stiles asked. This was news to him.

Derek nodded. "It was just finalized last night," he explained. "Until then, everything was kind of up in the air. I really only need one for History-- and, no offense, but you probably wouldn't be the best choice; I'd get... distracted."

Stiles smirked. "Damn right, you would," he said smugly. "But it's okay. I don't mind sharing you with some little old lady who smells like books."

Derek shifted uneasily in his seat. "It's uh, it's Allison's cousin-- she graduated about two years ago? She's back in Beacon Hills for break, and volunteered to do it."

"Oh," Allison cut in with a smile. "She mentioned that. She's really great, I'll bet you'll love working with her."

Derek shrugged. "As long as she can help me get my grades up, that's all I care about."

Stiles patted Derek's arm. "Tell her to be extra nice to him," he told Allison. "It's not his fault his boyfriend is so hot that he can't concentrate on his homework." Allison giggled.

Derek shoved Stiles playfully, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, you're blinding me with your hotness," he teased. "C'mon, I wanna go to the library and see if they've got the latest Maze Runner book in."

"Sure." Stiles grabbed his bag and stood up from the table. "See you guys later."

 

************

Derek didn't want to say that Kate was a _bad_  tutor, per se-- but she certainly wasn't the most... likable tutor out there. A major in History, Kate certainly knew what she was talking about, but she had a way of reprimanding and correcting Derek that made him feel like a complete moron. Derek was making better grades, yes, but he was beginning to wonder if it was worth it to put up with Kate herself.

Right now, however, Derek was out with Stiles, Stuart, Lydia, Allison, and Scott for a night out that had almost immediately turned into a triple date. Still, going minigolfing was extremely fun-- Scott was abysmal at it, Allison and Lydia were scarily good, and the others were holding their own. After Scott had sunk his golf ball in the mini pond for the tenth time, Derek and Stiles were both laughing hard enough that they had to support each other to keep from falling over. Stuart snickered, calling out, "Hey, Ally, does he do a better job of managing his balls in the bedroom?"

Allison laughed and pointed at Stuart. "Better than you!" she teased, sharing look with Lydia.

Stuart spluttered at that, and Derek snickered-- unfortunately, that drew Stuart's attention. "What about Stiles?" he challenged, a gleam in his eyes. "How's Stiles hold _his_  balls?"

Derek just shrugged. "Don't know, but I get the feeling he'd be better than you."

Stiles grimaced. "Can we stop talking about our balls, please? These guys are my brothers, it's gross."

Stuart smirked and Derek rolled his eyes as Scott finally waded out of the pond with his golf ball. "I give up!" Scott declared, flopping dramatically to the ground.

Derek poked him with his club. "You can't; still have five more holes to go." He thumped Stuart in the leg with the club when Stuart opened his mouth, no doubt to make some crude joke. "You, shut it."

Stuart made a face, rubbing his leg. "Fine," he muttered.

Stiles smiled sweetly at Stuart and turned to Scott. "Come on, man. I'll give you some tips."

 

************

"What did Derek mean earlier?"

Once again, Stuart had barged into Stiles's room without waiting for permission-- whenever Stiles protested, Stuart just rolled his eyes and retorted that it wasn't like Stiles had something Stuart didn't. "He said he didn't know how you handle your balls-- does he top, then?"

Stiles blinked. "I don't know," he said, confused.

Now it was Stuart's turn to blink. "You... don't know," he repeated slowly, realization dawning. "Oh my god. Seriously? You two haven't done _anything_?"

"Why would we?" Stiles asked impatiently. "We've only been dating for a few months!"

"Yeah, but... C'mon," Stuart protested, almost lost for words. "You're telling me that you haven't even _felt_  his dick yet? I mean, for Chrissakes, Lydia and I and-- and hell, even Scott and Allison, though God knows I don't really need to know about their sex life, have all gone past just _kissing_."

"You have?" Stiles tried not to show how nervous that made him feel. "Like... how far?"

Stuart grinned. "Like, far enough to need condoms but not far enough that we've got to worry about those condoms breaking, yknow what I mean?"

tiles felt the colour drain from his face. "Well, good for you," he managed. "But Derek and I don't need that. There's more to our relationship than the physical stuff."

Stuart looked at him oddly. "Well, yeah, okay, that's good-- but so's the sex shit. That's good too. Bonding, yeah?"

"We will!" Stiles insisted. "When we're ready. Okay?"

"Dude I just can't believe you haven't already climbed him like a tree," Stuart snorted.

That was it. Stiles had had enough. "Oh, shut up, Stu," he snapped. "I don't give a shit what you think."

Stuart raised an eyebrow. "Touchy?" he asked, but then sobered. "You're right though, sorry-- it isn't my business."

"Right," Stiles agreed, glaring. "So drop it."

 

************

Stiles tried to follow his own advice, and he succeeded for all of three days. The fourth day saw Stuart out on a date with Lydia, the sheriff working a late shift and Stiles stretched out on his bed with Derek in his arms. They'd been trading lazy, unhurried kisses for a good half hour when Stiles pulled back suddenly. "Stuart and Lydia had sex," he blurted out. "Like, are having sex. A lot of sex. Have been for a while."

It took Derek a few seconds to comprehend the fact that Stiles was no longer kissing him, but rather talking to him. "Um, good for them?" he hazarded.

"Good for them?" Stiles repeated quickly. "You think it's good that they're having sex?"

"As long as they're both consenting and not doing it in front of me, then I don't really care how much sex they're having," Derek answered, leaning up on his elbows. "Why did you bring it up?"

Stiles took a deep breath. "Do you think _we_  should be having sex?"

"Because Stuart and Lydia are? No," Derek answered immediately. "I would _like_  to have sex with you, yeah- but I want it to be something that just happens by itself, not because we think we _should_  be doing it for whatever reason."

Stiles hesitated. "Stuart thinks it's weird," he confessed. "And I know I shouldn't listen to him but I can't help it. I don't want you to... get bored."

Derek shifted around until he could sit up without having to hold himself up. "I don't think that'll happen," he said honestly, running his hands up Stiles's arms. "Maybe we won't last forever, but I really doubt that it would be because I got _bored_  of you. No sex isn't a deal-breaker for me, Stiles. I like you, and I like spending time with you."

Stiles smiled a slow, pleased smile, and reeled Derek in for another kiss. "I like you, too," he murmured against Derek's lips.

"I would hope so," Derek teased lightly, returning the kiss. "Otherwise this would get weird."

Stiles laughed, feeling better than he had all week.

 

************

Derek's mood, however, sank the longer time went by. Derek never said anything to anyone else, but the things Kate had been saying to him were starting to sound true. His grades were consistent now, yes-- he certainly wasn't in jeopardy of losing his position on the basketball team-- but he was still being tutored, since History was his worst subject and no one wanted him backsliding. If another tutor could have been found, Derek would have asked to switch, but there wasn't one. So he was stuck with Kate, and he was starting to believe her words.

It started when Derek told Kate that he'd applied to some colleges. "Berkeley, UCLA, UCS, and SDSU," he elaborated when asked. "I think I've got a decent chance."

Kate's face went carefully blank. "Colleges?" she asked, a hint of confusion in her voice. "I didn't realise you wanted to go to college."

Derek frowned. "Why wouldn't I? I mean-- I kinda need to, even though I'm not sure what job I want to go for."

Kate winced a little. "Sweetie," she began gently. "I think you should look at some other options."

Derek shifted uneasily in his seat. "Why? What's wrong with me wanting to go to college?"

"Nothing's _wrong_  with it, exactly," Kate answered. "It's just... college isn't for everyone, you know?"

"So what? You're saying I'm one of those? How would you know?" Derek was aware that he was bordering on sounding like a petulant child, but he couldn't make himself stop.

Kate smiled. "I've been tutoring you," she reminded him. "I know what you're capable of. And don't get me wrong, you're doing well enough in high school, but... I just don't think you've got what it takes to go further."

Derek was quiet for a few moments. "I want to try, anyway. I've already applied-- paid the fees and everything."

Kate reached out to touch his hand. "I'm not telling you not to try. I'm just asking you to think carefully about what's best for you."

Derek didn't answer.

 

************

Stiles didn't even notice how Derek jumped when Stiles flew into his room without warning, waving a piece of paper in his face. "I got accepted to Berkley!" he cried excitedly in case Derek couldn't see the letterhead with all the flapping. " _And_  UCS, _and_  UCLA! And so did Stuart! Did you get your letters?"

Derek hastily shoved the papers he'd been looking at under a pile of others. "Yeah, I got them," he said. "That's great that you two got accepted," he added warmly, getting up to hug Stiles.

Stiles let himself be hugged, and hugged in return, but only for a moment. "Don't think you're getting off that easily," he warned, pulling back to eye Derek suspiciously. "What did your letters say?"

"I got accepted," Derek said evasively, not quite meeting his boyfriend's eyes. "Same places, pretty much." What he didn't mention was that only two had immediately accepted him; he'd been waitlisted at all of the others.

Stiles beamed. "That's amazing!" he crowed. "Now we just have to pick one. Stuart and I were arguing about it this morning. And I guess we should probably decide if we want to go to school together? Do you want to?"

That, at least, Derek could answer honestly. "Yeah, yeah I do," he said, smiling at the expression on Stiles's face.

Stiles threw himself back into Derek's arms, and kissed him soundly. "We're gonna have the best time," he promised.

Derek smiled back and kissed Stiles again, but he didn't make any promises in return.

 

************

Over the next several weeks, Derek continued meeting with Kate for tutoring in History-- his grade was staying steady, and neither he nor his parents wanted to risk it dropping again, not now that they were entering the second semester and were coming down the home stretch of Derek's senior year. Kate also continued chipping away at Derek's confidence in his ability to do well in college-- not that he realized that that was what she was doing. He just thought that she was giving her opinion, and he listened to her because she was supposed to know what she was doing, being that she had already gone through a couple of years in college.

Early March found Derek and Stiles hanging out in Derek's room, Stiles leaning against Derek's chest playing Skyrim as Derek read over a study guide for an upcoming test in English. After Stiles died, cursing, for the fifth time in one dungeon, Derek finally voiced a thought that had been chasing itself around his mind for a while. "I'm thinking of taking a year off before college."

Stiles dropped his controller and twisted until he was facing Derek. "You're thinking of doing what?" he asked, sounding slightly strangled.

"Taking a year before I go to college," Derek repeated.

" _Why_?" Stiles pressed. "I thought we were going together."

Derek rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "I just... I don't feel ready for college. I kinda want to just take a year, work a bit maybe, and think."

Stiles gaped at him. "Think about what?"

Derek hesitated for a moment before admitting, "If I even want to go."

"You... don't want to go to college," Stiles said slowly. "What changed?"

"I didn't say I don't definitively want to go," Derek protested. "I'm just... not sure. "I've had to have Kate help me through History, and my grades have been lower this year than ever before. I just don't know if college is for me."

tiles frowned. "Your history grade is back up now, and it's okay if the rest of your grades have dropped a little. Senior year is hard. Even mine have slipped." Okay, that was more or less a lie, but only because Stiles was sacrificing sleep for the sake of maintaining both his grades and his social life.

"Yeah, but college will be harder," Derek pointed out. "I just... Like I said, I don't think I'm ready, and I'm not even sure that college is the right choice for me."

Stiles huffed. He couldn't really argue with that. "Okay," he said at last. "Okay. We'll... work something out. Do the long distance thing."

Derek offered an apologetic smile. "I know we were planning on going together, but thank you."

Stiles laid a hand on Derek's arm and squeezed. "Whatever makes you happy," he murmured.

 

************

Derek growled under his breath, scowling at the worksheet in front of him; it was a History worksheet, of course, and he could not, for the life of him, remember which kingdom of Israel the Assyrians invaded. He knew that there were only two, but that didn't really help him. He _thought_  it was the Northern Kingdom, but he couldn't remember for sure where the Assyrians had been located. In the end, he reached for his phone and googled it-- _Which kingdom of Israel did the Assyrians invade?_  The first link was a Wikipedia article on the Assyrian Captivity of Israel which told him that the Assyrians conquered the Northern Kingdom. Derek swore; he had written the Southern Kingdom. "Dammit," he muttered, erasing the answer and replacing it with the correct one.

Kate was standing behind him, and she leaned forward under the guise of reading his work, moulding herself to his back. She tutted into his ear. "I sure hope you're going to study in this gap year," she purred. "Else you might as well give up now."

Derek stiffened, uncomfortable with Kate's closeness, but he didn't say anything about that. "Kinda what I was planning to do," he said stiffly. "Don't want to give up just yet."

"Such a little trooper," Kate cooed, straightening up only to run a hand through Derek's hair. "I hope it's not for nothing."

Derek did jerk away from her that, time, scowling. "I can do it," he snapped, but even he could hear the undertone of uncertainty in his words.

Kate stepped back, laughing. "Of course you can."

 

************

Stuart glanced at Derek and Stiles; the couple was working on their chemistry homework while Stuart and Lydia (who had finished those worksheets during class) watched _Buffy_  reruns on television. The elder Stilinski twin frowned when he noticed that Derek and his brother were sitting across from each other, rather than side by side; they didn't even have the excuse of having too many materials, having only a book and packet each. Stuart nudged Lydia and nodded towards the other couple. "They've been acting distant lately."

Lydia hummed, her gaze flickering to the other couple and then away. "I've noticed," she answered quietly. "Derek's been distant in general. I think he's having trouble at school."

Stuart hummed thoughtfully. "I heard he's gotten better at history and he's holding steady there, but he's still having Allison's aunt tutor him."

"To keep him from slipping again?" Lydia guessed. "I don't know if he's struggling anywhere else, but he's definitely acting like it. You know he blew off that double date with us and Stiles the other weekend to study." She hesitated. "Do you think... Could he be sleeping with Kate?"

Stuart's immediate reaction was to deny Lydia's suggestion, but he forced himself to stop and think. "It's... possible," he admitted reluctantly. "If he's not studying when he's with her..."

Lydia glanced back at the others. Stuart had confided in her that they weren't having sex, but... "I'm sure Derek wouldn't do that to Stiles," she said after a moment. "They really care about each other. But if he's not cheating, I don't know what it is."

"Neither do I," Stuart murmured, feeling a bit lost. "I just don't want Stiles hurt."

Lydia smiled at him. "Neither do I. But they'll work it out."

"For both of their sakes, I hope so."

 

************

Aside from at school, Stiles and Derek didn't see each other after that study session until the following weekend. Stiles had finally mentioned that he was feeling kind of neglected, and Derek responded by taking the whole weekend off. No studying, no basketball practice, no distractions of any kind - including Derek's family. They were away visiting his older sister at college, which was why they were currently enjoying the peace and quiet by making out on Derek's bed. Derek's big, squishy, double bed that was giving Stiles ideas.

"Wait," he gasped, dragging his mouth away from Derek's with no small amount of effort.

Derek stilled, taking a moment to bring his breathing back under control and try to reign in the problem making itself known in his pants. "What is it?"

"I think..." Stiles swallowed hard. "I think I'm ready."

It took Derek a moment to place what Stiles was talking about, and when he did he gaped at the other teen. "Really?"

"Really," Stiles told him. "I've been thinking about it and, yes. I want to. I want you."

Derek grinned, leaning up to wrap his arms around Stiles and embrace him tightly. "I want you, too," he confided. "Kind of scares me how much." He hadn't meant for that to come out, but there was nothing he could do now besides wait for Stiles's response.

There was a beat of silence during which they just looked at each other, and then Stiles started giggling. "Oh my god, you did not just say that," he spluttered, muffling his laughter in Derek's chest. "That was beautiful! Oh my god. Take me now."

Derek laughed too, poking Stiles in the rib. "Who's the one who just said 'take me now'?" he demanded, grinning.

"The boy you're about to fuck," Stiles shot back, smirking, before his eyes went wide. "You are going to fuck me, right? Did you want me to fuck you?"

Derek hesitated before answering. "I kinda... wantyoutofuckme."

Stiles' eyes got impossibly wider. " _Really_?"

Derek nodded. "Yeah. I uh, I really like being penetrated," he confessed, flushing slightly as he thought of the dildo he'd had to smuggle past his family that he rarely got to use.

Stiles suddenly went very pale. "You've... before?"

Derek shook his head emphatically. "Just toys," he reassured Stiles. "Er, well, one, but, y'know, it's enough for me to know what I like and what I like is feeling full and I'm gonna shut up now."

Stiles sighed and pressed himself against Derek, kissing him. "You're cute when you do that," he confessed with a smile. "So, me fucking you? I'm _so_  up for that. Like, really, really _up_. For that."

Derek stared at his boyfriend for a moment and then choked on his laughter. "Did you just make a pun about your dick?" he demanded in between laughs. His hands drifted down to Stiles's hips, thumbs easing under the hem of his shirt to rub across his skin.

Stiles' breathing stuttered but he didn't miss a beat. "Who's punning?" he demanded. "I was being serious." He rocked his hips up against Derek just to prove how serious.

Derek grinned, and shifted so that he was gripping the hem of Stiles's shirts. "C'mon, I'll take off mine if you take off yours."

Stiles absolutely did not get tangled in his shirt, but even so it was just typical that Derek was able to strip his off in one graceful, fluid motion. "I hate you," Stiles groused with a scowl, his face flushed and his hair sticking up everywhere.

"No you don't," Derek said smugly, leaning in to kiss Stiles quickly. He raised an eyebrow when he pulled back and looked Stiles over. "Damn. I think I should start hiding all your layers."

The blush on Stiles' cheeks deepened, but he made no move to cover himself. "Speak for yourself," he returned with a slightly dazed smile. "You're... wow. Yeah. Words."

"Yeah those are a thing," Derek agreed, smirking. "Seriously, though," he added, running his hands up Stiles's sides and then bringing his hands around to Stiles's front so he could run his thumbs over Stiles's nipples, watching them pebble under his touch, "I'm the luckiest guy in the state, at least."

"Bullshit," Stiles argued, but he was laughing. "Come on. Enough gushing, more clothes-removing."

Derek grinned, moving to wrap an arm around Stiles's waist and flip them-- but the move didn't translate from his mind to reality as smoothly as he'd hoped. They ended up rolling almost completely off of the bed, saved only by Stiles grabbing the headboard and Derek bracing himself against the nightstand. "Oops."

"Without breaking us or the room, please," Stiles huffed breathlessly as he helped to haul them back to stability. "You're such a caveman!"

Derek poked Stiles in the side. "I was trying to be smooth!" he protested, laughing.

Stiles grinned. "The only thing smooth about you is your chest. Which - do you wax or something?"

Derek rolled his eyes. "Yes, I steal Laura's waxing equipment," he deadpanned. "And it's nice to know exactly how you feel about me. C'mon, pants off."

Stiles would have pushed the point, but his boner wasn't in the mood to argue. Rather than repeat the fiasco with the shirts he actually got off the bed to take off his pants and give Derek the space to do the same, but hesitated when it came to his boxers. "Everything?" he asked, hating how he sounded almost nervous.

Derek paused when Stiles did, scooting to the edge of the bed and reaching out to tug Stiles in between his legs. "Whatever you're comfortable with," he promised.

Stiles bent to kiss Derek, soft and sweet. "I'm comfortable," he murmured, despite the butterflies in his stomach. "I want you to see." So he stepped back, and pulled his boxers down.

Derek immediately went slack-jawed; normally he didn't say things like this, but Stiles had a _gorgeous_  cock. Not too big, but it certainly wasn't small, not by any stretch of the imagination. "I cannot _wait_  to feel that," he murmured, tentatively reaching out a hand. "Can I?"

"Yeah," Stiles breathed, almost stumbling forwards. "But then it's your turn."

"I can get on board with that," Derek said absently, reaching out to wrap his hand around Stiles's cock, stroking lightly.

Stiles moaned, his hips stuttering, and it was only a few moments before he had to lay a hand on Derek's wrist. "Kind of on a hair-trigger," he confessed sheepishly. "Don't wanna blow just yet."

Derek grinned. "We can work on that."

Derek grinned. "We can work on that."

Derek grinned, standing and complying. "C'mon, Stiles," he murmured, stepping forward to press a kiss to his boyfriend's mouth. "Relax, okay? I'm in this with you, no matter what."

Some of the tension drained from Stiles' body, and he even managed a small smile. "I know," he said softly. "I'm just nervous. This is important; I want to make it good."

"Hey, I'm nervous, too," Derek said with a small grin. "And trust me, it'll be good."

Encouraged, Stiles grinned back. He took Derek's hand and led him back to the bed, fishing under his pillow for the KY he kept there. "Do you want to do this part yourself?" he asked curiously.

Derek shrugged. "I can; might be faster. But I definitely want your fingers in me at some point."

Stiles nodded eagerly. "Definitely," he agreed, handing Derek the lube. "But you can do the legwork. This time."

Derek liked the sound of that-- "this time." He took the lube and popped the cap, shifting so that he could straddle Stiles's hips, tilting his ass to give himself a better angle to work with as he poured a decent bit of the lube onto his fingers. He went a bit faster than he usually did when he was alone, but he was really eager to have Stiles's cock in him, okay? So he pushed past the slight sting of being stretched faster than normal(and he was a little surprised to find that he liked it; something to explore later.), opening himself up and rocking his hips back onto his fingers, the slow rhythm stuttering when he found his prostate. " _Shit,_ " he breathed, pushing into the feeling. " _Christ_ \-- 'm almost ready."

Stiles was a little caught up in the sheer _hot_  that was watching Derek finger himself open, so it took him a moment to register what was being said. "Shit, already?" he asked, his voice cracking with how much he wanted this. "Are you sure?"

Derek smirked at Stiles's voice, but nodded. "I know my body," he said certainly. "I've got condoms in the upper drawer in the nightstand."

"Someone's sure of himself," Stiles quipped without thinking, but really he was grateful that Derek had thought ahead. So grateful that he nearly broke the drawer in his haste to get it open; it was still intact when Stiles handed over the condom, if only barely. "Put it on me?" he asked as he slid his hands over Derek's hips to tease the cleft of his ass with the tip of a finger.

"Just common sense," Derek argued, but it was more absent than anything. He took his time rolling the condom onto Stiles's cock; he was pretty sure Stiles didn't have anything, but better safe than sorry with a broken condom. He arched back into Stiles's touch before lifting himself onto his knees, gripping the headboard with one hand and using the other to help line up Stiles. He was careful to go slow, but it was immediately obvious that he wasn't quite as prepared as he'd thought. "Shit," he hissed, pausing with only the head inside. "Gimme a second; you're wider than I thought."

The restraint Stiles showed in that moment was nothing short of admirable, as his hands flew to Derek's hips to halt further movement. "It's okay," he said quickly. "We can stop and stretch you some more, it's fine, don't hurt yourself."

"No, I'm good," Derek insisted, carefully rocking himself back and forth. "Just gonna take it slow."

Stiles grit his teeth and tried to remember why he'd suggested they stop. "Are you sure this position is even the best one?" he asked, sounding slightly strangled. "I don't want to hurt you."

Derek shrugged. "Might have been easier doggy-style," he mused, slowly working himself further down Stiles's cock; the stretch still stung a bit, but it was getting better. "But I want to see your face."

Stiles moaned, his eyes fluttering shut, but he tightened his hold on Derek's hips. "Missionary?" he suggested stubbornly.

Derek raised an eyebrow. "We can do that next," he promised, reaching to grasp Stiles's wrists in his hands, squeezing gently. "Trust me, okay? If it hurts, I'll get off and get some more lube and stretch. But right now, I feel _really_  full, and I like that feeling, even with the little bit of sting. It's nothing I can't handle, and I actually like it."

Stiles still wasn't sure, but he trusted Derek. He gentled his hands and took a shuddering breath. "Okay," he panted. "Okay. Just go slow."

Derek huffed a laugh and grinned. "Was planning on it; you sure you can last, though?" he teased, resuming his task. Eventually, he managed to bottom out, and he just sat there, taking slow, deep breaths. " _Christ,_  that feels good. So much better than a dildo."

Stiles was vaguely aware that he was red in the face, but his levels of attractiveness wasn't really on the top of his priority list. Not falling at the first hurdle was; if he'd been on a hair trigger before, he was hanging on by the thinnest thread imaginable now. "Fuck," he gasped. "Fuck, _Derek_."

Derek raised an eyebrow. "You're close," he said, and it wasn't a question. "Think you can hang on, or...?"

The embarrassment was enough to allow Stiles to claw back from the edge - barely. "Only one way to find out."

Derek grinned. "To be fair, I'm not gonna last long either," he confessed; he knew very well what it felt like when he was close to orgasm, and that feeling was already beginning to stir in the pit of his stomach as he carefully lifted up just a little bit and rocked back down.

And that was _it_  for Stiles. With a stuttering moan and a desperate, "Oh _fuck_!" he came.

Derek stared at Stiles for a moment before he started snickering. "Seriously?" he gasped, grinning. "Christ, we're going to have to work on your stamina." He ducked down to press a kiss to the corner of Stiles's mouth. "'m still gonna ride you, though; like having your cock in me."

Stiles screwed up his face. "You try having someone sit on your fucking cock and see how long you la- _hast_. Oh my _God_!" Derek had clenched around him, and the overstimulation had his hips stuttering helplessly.

Derek laughed. "Bet I'll last long--er than, than you," he managed to get out, using one hand to balance himself against the headboard and the other to jack himself off. "Fuck, Stiles."

"Let me," Stiles murmured, batting Derek's hand out of the way and taking over. At least with this he knew what he was doing.

Derek let go willingly, using his now-free hand to help with his balance. He rocked into Stiles's hand and back onto his cock, moaning softly. "Little tighter," he murmured.

Stiles adjusted his grip accordingly, his eyes trained on Derek's face. "God, you're gorgeous," he whispered.

Derek smiled. "Speak for yourself," he replied, leaning in for another kiss. "Faster-- I like it rough."

"You would," Stiles quipped, but he did what Derek asked, quickening his pace and twisting his wrist on the upstroke, just to see what happened.

What happened was Derek came-- hard. In fact, he thought he saw Jesus for a moment; when he was done, he slumped down against Stiles, panting heavily. "Christ, that was-- _fuck._ "

It had been a pretty out-of-this-world experience for Stiles, too; Derek coming around his still-sensitive dick had felt incredible, but left him feeling dazed and shaky. He managed to lift a hand and pat weakly at Derek's head. "I feel ya, buddy," he wheezed. "We're _so_  doing that again."

It had been a pretty out-of-this-world experience for Stiles, too; Derek coming around his still-sensitive dick had felt incredible, but left him feeling dazed and shaky. He managed to lift a hand and pat weakly at Derek's head. "I feel ya, buddy," he wheezed. "We're _so_  doing that again."

Derek snickered quietly. "Fuck yeah we are."

 

************

Derek's family was gone until the following afternoon, and Derek had been planning to spend that time with Stiles-- he _had_  been pretty distant lately, and he felt really guilty about that. Derek's plans, however, were disrupted by an urgent text from Kate-- apparently she'd gotten word of what the teacher was planning on going over this coming week, and she wanted him to get a headstart on it. Nevermind that it was barely eight o'clock on a Sunday morning, she wanted to meet him _immediately._

Derek groaned and chucked his phone onto his nightstand-- Stiles was still laying on the bed, sprawled into the space Derek had left when he'd gotten up to get his phone. Derek really didn't want to kick Stiles out, and he didn't want to just leave the other teenager there, sneak out while he was sleeping; in the end, Derek decided it would probably be better if he woke Stiles up and at least let him know where he was going. He reached over to poke Stiles in the cheek gently, prodding a second time when Stiles didn't wake up immediately. "Stiles. Hey, Stiles-- wake up."

Stiles flailed himself awake, nearly smacking Derek in the face in the process. "What is it?" he slurred, eyes wide. "What's goin' on?"

"I gotta go; Kate says she needs to see me immediately," Derek explained. "Just wanted to let you know where I'm going."

"What?" Stiles asked again, his hands unconsciously fisting in the covers, pulling them up his chest. "You have to see _Kate_? Right now?"

"I tried to put her off," Derek sighed; he was rooting through his closet and didn't see Stiles's discomfort. "She isn't having any of it; threatened to come here."

Stiles let that sink in for a moment and realised that he could _not_  handle Kate being there right now. "Okay," he whispered, sliding his feet onto the carpet. "Okay. Just give me a couple minutes to get ready and I'll be out of your hair."

Derek shook his head. "Nah, she wants to meet at the little cafe downtown; I'm headed out. Feel free to help yourself to the fridge." Slipping into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, Derek gave Stiles a quick smile and kiss to the cheek before leaving.

Stiles was left feeling a little shaken and a whole lot devastated. If he stayed curled up in Derek's bed for a good hour afterwards, it wasn't like Derek was there to call him on it.

 

************

Needless to say, Derek was more than a little disgruntled when he met Kate. "What did you find?"

Kate did not look impressed. "I found out that your teacher is going to be looking at all of your weakest areas next week," she answered tartly. "You don't want to make a fool of yourself in front of your whole class, do you?"

"I was planning to spend the weekend with Stiles," Derek said petulantly. "Fine. What are we going over."

Kate handed over the worksheets without comment. Until, "You're _still_  dating that guy?"

Derek glanced up, eyes narrowed. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" he asked, unconsciously defensive.

Kate shrugged. "I'm just surprised, is all. He must be very patient."

Derek frowned, unease settling into his stomach. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, you're not following him to college, are you?" Kate asked, her eyes all wide innocence. "But you're not breaking up?"

"I'm not planning on it; I really like Stiles," Derek answered carefully. "He makes me happy."

Kate nodded. "That's what I mean," she said. "Patient. Gotta be hard to stay with someone when you're flying ahead of them, academically. What are people at school going to say to him when they ask where his boyfriend is and he says, Oh, he didn't get into college?"

Derek was quiet for a moment; part of him was insisting that Stiles didn't care about that, but the other part was admitting that what Kate was saying made a certain amount of sense. "Stiles won't care about that," he said eventually, but even to him it sounded weak, uncertain.

"Maybe not," Kate conceded. "But do you not think he should?"

"Why? I-- Stiles isn't with me for my brains or anything. He likes me."

"I'm sure he does. But won't you hold him back? Socially, if not intellectually." Kate sighed. "It's just something to think about. You really should at least try those worksheets."

Upset and distracted, Derek dropped the conversation.

 

************

Two days later, while Stiles was locked in his room agonising over the almost cold dismissal he'd received from Derek 'the morning after' in response to a summons from Kate, Lydia arrived at the Stilinskis' house. She gave Stuart a brief kiss when he opened the door before pushing past him and into the house. "We need to talk."

Stuart returned the kiss, and then followed Lydia into the house after shutting the door. "All right," he said. "What do we need to talk about?"

"The future of our relationship," Lydia stated without preamble. "More to the point, the lack of one."

"The lack of a future?" Stuart asked, just to clarify.

"The lack of a future," Lydia agreed. "I'm going to MIT; you're not. I don't think we can swing the long-distance thing. Do you?"

Stuart thought it over for a moment. "It would be difficult," he admitted. "And, to be completely honest, I agree with you."

Lydia let out a sigh of relief. They hadn't exchanged 'I love you's yet, largely because she thought that Stuart knew how she felt, and this was proof. "This doesn't change anything," she said carefully. "I still... I just think it's for the best."

Stuart nodded-- he wasn't going to pretend not to be a bit disappointed, because Lydia was by far the most interesting girl he knew, and he was very fond of her, but he'd suspected for a while now that this conversation was going to happen. He voiced that, saying, "You will always be someone I'll be fond of-- and I hope we can stay good friends, if nothing else-- but yes, I think it is. Who knows, maybe after college, we'll end up back together, or maybe we'll never see each other again."

"Oh, we'll see each other again," Lydia promised, stepping into Stuart's personal space. "We'll more than see each other again." And then she was kissing him.

Stuart went easily into the kiss, bringing his hands up to frame Lydia's face. When they pulled apart, he studied her for a moment. "I'm smart, Lyds, but I'm not a mind reader-- what are you thinking?"

"That I care about you," Lydia murmured, letting her fingers knock Stuart's beanie to the floor as they threaded into his hair. "That I know this has to end, but I don't want it to. Stuart, I-- I want..."

"I care about you, too," Stuart murmured, his thumb stroking carefully over the top of Lydia's cheek. "Are you-- Do you want to stay together? At least until graduation."

Lydia smiled. "I think that would be nice," she said softly.

Stuart smiled. "Then that's what we'll do," he said firmly, leaning to press a soft kiss to Lydia's lips.

Lydia kissed back, and when they broke apart she was grinning. "I knew there was a reason I picked you."

 

************

As the school year continued, Derek started spending less and less time with Stiles-- with everyone, really. His confidence had plummeted, and he didn't want to face anyone else asking about his college plans. He hadn't told anyone but Stiles what he was debating, and that hadn't gone too well, so he was reluctant to repeat the experience. His grades stayed fairly steady, but eventually Stiles had had enough.

"I'm sorry, what?" Derek asked, pulling the phone away from his ear to check the signal. It was full, so there was no way he could have misheard Stiles…

"Do you want to break up with me?" Stiles repeated, fighting to keep his voice steady.

"No, of course not!" Derek exclaimed, stunned and hurt that Stiles could even think such a thing.

"Don't say it like that!" Stiles snapped, losing some of his cool. "Like you're _shocked_. Just tell me the truth, Derek."

"I am!" Derek replied hotly. "No, I don't want to break up with you, and I sounded shocked because I _was_. What the hell makes you think I would?"

"Maybe because you've barely spoken to me for weeks?" Stiles cried, indignant. "I don't even know what you've decided, about college. Did you hear me when I told you that I'm leaving this weekend?"

That made Derek pause. "Yes, I did," he answered cautiously, unsure of where Stiles was going with this.

Stiles sighed, defeated. Derek knew he was leaving and still hadn't made the effort to talk to him. "Derek, I'm sorry," he said softly. "I didn't want to do this over the phone, but I don't think I can look at you and still say this." He took a deep, shuddering breath. "All of this talk about not being good enough for college is bullshit. I don't know why you're-- but it is. It's an excuse and whatever you're scared of or trying to avoid or _whatever_ , it's bullshit. I've tried to understand, to be there for you, but all you've done for months is push me away, and it's killing me. I can't do it anymore."

"Can't do what? Stiles, what are you saying?"

"I'm leaving on Saturday, at noon," Stiles told him. "And if you're not there to leave with me, then we're over."

Derek's breath caught in his chest. "Stiles... Stiles, don't. I'm not-- I'll be better, I swear. Don't do this, please."

"Why not?" Stiles asked, swallowing against the lump in his throat. "Do you even want to be with me? Or is it just a coincidence that you stopped speaking to me right after we..."

Derek's heart stopped. "Stiles, no-- I swear, I wasn't-- I wasn't _using_  you for that. Of course I want to be with you." _I love you,_  Derek thought, but something told him it wouldn't be appreciated in this conversation.

Stiles ached to believe him, but actions spoke louder than words. "So prove it," he whispered, and hung up.

 

************

Kate was less than pleased when Derek showed up on her doorstep a few hours later. "It's a little late for a study session," she said dryly.

"I need your help," Derek said without preamble. "Stiles called me, said if I didn't come meet him when he leaves for college then we're done."

Kate softened immediately and stepped back to let Derek inside, rubbing a hand over his shoulder as he passed her. "I get that you're upset, but maybe it's for the best, sweetie."

"For the best?" Derek repeated, disbelieving. "How?"

"You know how," Kate sighed. "But now that it's over, you can start fresh. Start thinking about what you need."

"It's not over yet," Derek insisted. "And what do you mean, what I need? How would you know?"

"Because I know you, Derek," Kate answered. "Come on, come and sit down. I'll get you a drink and we can talk."

Derek followed Kate in, taking a seat on the couch. "I'm not gonna let him leave, not without me," he said.

Kate had stepped into the kitchen, and she returned now to hand Derek a beer. "You're not serious, are you?" she asked as she sat down beside him, their thighs pressed together. "I know you got in, but you won't be able to keep up with him, and you'll resent him for it. Stiles has the right idea; it needs to end now."

Derek didn't open the drink, too busy frowning at Kate. "That's not what he said," Derek said, shifting so that their thighs were about an inch apart.

Kate made up for the gap by actually laying a hand on his thigh, squeezing comfortingly. "What did he say, then?"

"He said he just wanted me to meet him when he was leaving; he said if I wasn't there, then we were done," Derek answered, toying with the cap on the beer even though he didn't drink it.

"So he doesn't actually want you to go to college with him?" Kate asked, frowning.

"I'm sure he'd like that, but he didn't say anything."

Kate's smile was patient to the point of patronising. "Then that's even more reason to end it," she said gently. "If he hasn't even asked you to follow him then he must know that you'd be no good there, which means that as soon as he finds someone more intelligent he'll forget all about you back at home."

Derek shook his head. "No, that's not like Stiles. He wouldn't do that-- he'd come out and tell me."

"He might not see it yet," Kate reminded him. "But it'll happen, Derek. If you don't think I'm right, you're lying to yourself."

"I don't want to just give up, though," Derek murmured.

Kate squeezed Derek's thigh again. "It sounds like he already has, though." She took a breath. "Which is why you should start thinking about moving on. There are people all around you, Derek, who care about you. Who see you for what you are and love you anyway."

Derek's stomach almost cramped with unease. "What are you talking about, Kate?" he asked suspiciously.

Those people-- that _person_ ," Kate corrected forcefully. "Is right here, Derek."

It took Derek a moment to piece together what Kate was saying, then he leapt to his feet, accidentally dropping the beer bottle on his foot, though thankfully the sturdy glass didn't break. "What the _fuck?_ " he hissed. "No, that's-- For God's sake, no! I don't like you like that!"

Kate watched him calmly. "It's okay, Derek," she soothed. "I've seen the way you look at me. It just makes sense. Everyone else will expect you to be smarter, to want to better yourself, but I know you. I don't need you to be smart; I won't expect things I know you can't give. Not like Stiles will."

"The way _I_  look at _you_?" Derek demanded, his voice strangled. "You're my _tutor_ , for God's sake. I don't _look_  at you in any way other than that!" He started towards the door, feeling sick; how long had he missed this?

Kate jumped up then, and chased him as he left the room. "You think you have any other choice now?" she spat furiously. "You think he's going to want you now? You think anyone will? You're pathetic! And after the way you've been acting lately, Stiles knows that. I'm the only one who'll even entertain you now."

"Stiles is giving me another chance," Derek retorted.

"But how long is that going to last? How long until he realised how little self-worth you have, and how little worth his time you are?"

Derek paused, his hand on the doorknob. "Even if I lose Stiles, I'm _not_  going with you," he snarled, ripping the door open and storming out to his car.

 

************

Stiles should have left half an hour ago, yet still he waited. His dad had given up standing by his car with him after a while, but Stiles could still feel his disapproving gaze from where he stood watch in the living room window. The sheriff had made his opinions on Derek clear - if he was going to screw his son around like this, then Stiles shouldn't waste time on him - but he didn't understand. Stiles loved Derek, and he had to believe that Derek wouldn't let him down like this. Derek was just running late; he would be there. He _had_  to be there.

"Come on, kid." Stiles jumped - when had his father rejoined him outside? "You're gonna be unfashionably late if you keep this up for much longer. It's time to go." The sheriff looked pained, but his expression was resolute, and Stiles knew he was right.

"I really thought he'd be here," he whispered; the sheriff pulled him into a hug.

They embraced for the longest of moments, but when Derek still refused to appear, Stiles pulled away and climbed behind the wheel of his jeep. "I love you," he told his dad for the fifth time that day, because he had no one else to say it to. The sheriff returned the sentiment, along with a promise to visit when he had time off the following week, and Stiles had no choice but to drive away. The fight he put up was a valiant one, but he lost the battle to keep the tears from falling before he even reached the end of the street.

 

************

Derek had been caught up in phone calls, arguing and pleading his case to arrange everything he needed to start college with Stiles-- in the end, he owed a late fee, but he would be able to start classes on time.

Derek swore when he saw the time-- Stiles would be leaving any minute. He sped the entire way to Stiles's house, hoping against hope that he wouldn't be too late-- only to see the Jeep pulling around the corner at the end of the street.

Derek was too late.

 

************

It took Derek all of half an hour to pack everything he needed, and then he was off; it was a four hour drive to the college, and Stiles had a headstart on him. He was exhausted when he got to campus, but he perked up when he saw the familiar blue Jeep in the parking lot of his dorm building. Derek parked next to it and raced inside, darting to the girl at the front desk. "Did you see a guy, about my height, duck-butt black hair, lanky come in?"

She thought for a moment and then nodded. "Room 234 was the key he picked up I think. He looked upset."

Derek grimaced. "Yeah, I'm here to fix that. Hopefully."

She offered him a smile. "Well, good luck to you, then."

Derek thanked her; he had a feeling he was going to need all the luck he could get.

Stiles had cried nearly all the way to the college, and had only stopped long enough to get his key and drag all of his stuff up to his new room. He'd taken one look at the second bed, the one he'd hoped would be Derek's, and started all over again. So when he heard the knock on the door - if it could even be called a knock; it sounded like some fucker was trying to break his door down - it took him less than a second to decide that he was not in the mood for visitors.

"I'm a little busy right now!" he called out, and Jesus, was that his voice? His throat felt raw as sandpaper; his nose was all stuffy. "Could you come back later?"

I already missed you once," Derek called through the door, his chest aching at the rough sound of Stiles's voice. "I don't want to miss you again. It is a big campus."

This time, it took a few seconds for Stiles' brain to catch up, and then he flew to the door so fast he almost pulled the handle off trying to get it open. "Oh my God, you're here!" he gasped, and then the tears were coming faster than ever.

Derek pulled Stiles into a tight hug. "I am; I'm so sorry I'm late, I couldn't get anyone on the phone until today and it took forever to sort everything out. I got to your place right as you left."

"You're an asshole," Stiles choked into Derek's shoulder, but it lacked bite; he'd completely relaxed into Derek's arms the instant they'd closed around him. "I thought you didn't..."

Derek couldn't help a single, breathless laugh. "I do-- I love you."

Stiles pulled back sharply, and God, he must look like shit: his nose always went bright red when he cried and he knew for a fact that his eyes were bloodshot - but he didn't care. "You do?" he breathed, awed, and then; "So where the _hell_  have you been?!"

"I told you, I couldn't get in touch with anyone from the school!" A thought occurred to Derek then, and he added, "I was also trying to get good scores, so I spent a lot of time with Kate-- which was a _really_  big mistake, in hindsight--" he'd have to tell Stiles later what she'd done "but I was trying to do well on the SATs and exams."

"I knew you were with her," Stiles sighed, scrubbing at his face with the sleeve of his hoodie. "Exams are important, but they're not _that_  important. It's not like you're too stupid to pass."

Derek shifted uneasily. "Felt like I was," he admitted quietly. "And Kate-- I think she was, well, a bad influence about that, too."

Stiles' gaze flickered up to meet Derek's. "What?"

Derek shrugged one shoulder. "She just kinda got in my head, I guess. Wasn't until she started tutoring me that I started thinking I wasn't good enough."

The slam of a door further down the hall reminded Stiles that they didn't exactly have much privacy just now, so he took Derek's hand and dragged him into the room. "Is that why you decided against college?" he asked softly once they were alone.

Derek ran a hand through his hair, nodding slightly. "Yeah, I didn't think I'd be able to handle it-- or well, Kate made me think that."

Stiles let out a shaky breath, and surged forward to hug Derek again. He didn't say that he'd thought Derek just didn't want to be with him, or that Derek liked Kate better; he didn't need to. It was there in the embarrassingly needy way he clung to Derek, in the frantic way his fingers moved through his hair, in the gentle words he breathed into Derek's ear: "You will _always_  be good enough. I love you."

Derek clung to Stiles just as tightly. "I love you, too; I'm sorry for being an idiot these past few months."

Stiles huffed out a laugh. "I think I can forgive you. My dad might not be so easy, though."

Derek groaned at the thought. "Shit."

Stiles tightened his hold. "It'll be okay," he murmured. "I'll talk to him. He just wants me to be happy."

"That's all I want, too," Derek said, tilting his head to plant a soft kiss to Stiles's temple.

Something fluttered in Stiles' stomach, and he grinned. "Then I don't think we'll have a problem."

 

************

It was a hard four years, and there were times when Derek seriously considered dropping out, but eventually he walked across the stage to receive his diploma. Stiles had stayed with Derek the entire time, and Derek was currently considering a couple of different rings, and it was Stiles who cheered the loudest as Derek accepted his scroll. Derek returned the favor for Stiles, who was graduating magna cum laude.

Afterwards, Derek grabbed Stiles in a hug, kissing him briefly. "Can't believe this is real," he laughed, adjusting his cap.

Stiles was flushed with happiness, his own cap long gone and his hair sticking up all over the place, and his face ached with grinning. "I'm so proud of you," he told Derek, pressing close within the circle of his arms. "I love you _so much_."

Derek grinned. "I love you, too-- couldn't have done it without you."

Stiles was too happy to argue, so he just kissed Derek again and pulled back. "Come on, we gotta go see your parents and then we have to get home. If I don't shower before we leave _no one_  will hug me at the party."

Derek laughed. "I'd still hug you," he reassured Stiles, wrapping an arm around the other man's waist as he led the way through the throng to his parents; the sheriff was with them, and Derek offered the other man a smile, which was met with a nod.

At Stiles's urging, Derek had eventually told his parents and the sheriff what had been going on with Kate and the stunt she had tried to pull the day Stiles had delivered his ultimatum. They'd been nothing but supportive, if a little disappointed that Derek had felt the need to shoulder all of that on his own. Talia looked a bit worried. She had good reason to: "Kate has been invited to Allison's graduation party, and she accepted."

Stiles winced and gripped Derek's hand a little tighter than necessary. "Maybe we shouldn't go."

Derek hesitated, but shook his head. "It's been four years," he reminded Stiles. "I don't want to hide from her forever."

Stiles met his father's gaze and knew that Derek was right. "Okay," he sighed. "Then we go, and we shove that diploma in her face."

Derek smiled. "I like that idea."

 

************

Kate wasn't the first person they saw when they got to the party - that was Allison, who was squealing and hugging a thankfully-showered Stiles, followed by Derek, and congratulating them on their own graduations. Stiles returned the sentiment with all the enthusiasm he could muster, but the smile slipped from his face when he noticed a certain someone glaring at them from across the room.

Allison followed his gaze with some concern, and turned back to them looking contrite. "I'm sorry," she said to Derek, biting her lip. "I had to invite her. My dad..."

Derek nodded in understanding, and after a quick kiss from Stiles, he walked over to Kate-- better to get this over with. "Kate," he said, nodding politely.

Kate's gaze was nothing short of hungry as she looked Derek up and down. "Well, you grew up in all the right places."

Derek rolled his eyes. "Right, that doesn't sound any less creepy than what you said four years ago. Speaking of which--" Derek dug into his messenger bag, withdrawing his diploma. "I graduated. Just shy of with honors."

Kate's composure slipped for a split second, before it regained its place. "Wow. Congrats," she smirked. "And Stiles is still on the scene?"

Derek gestured over his shoulder. "Surprised? Can't say I'm not, but I certainly am grateful."

Kate scoffed. " _Grateful_. What are you, some kind of charity case? His pet project?"

"Actually, he's my boyfriend." Stiles had chosen that moment to appear at Derek's side, and he slid an arm around Derek's waist even as he smiled widely at Kate. "My amazing, talented, intelligent boyfriend; my equal in every way. And I love him."

Kate looked like she'd swallowed something sour. "I loved him too, once."

Derek raised an eyebrow. "'Love'?" he scoffed. "You didn't love me. You got off on manipulating me." He turned away from her, pulling Stiles with him. "C'mon, Stiles; before she makes a scene. Don't want to spoil Allison's party."

Stiles went willingly, leaving Kate to seethe alone. "Are you okay?" he asked Derek once they were out of earshot.

Derek blew out a breath. "Yeah. Better than I thought I'd be."

"You did well," Stiles told him, and as he spoke the music changed from an upbeat pop song to something slower, softer. He smiled. "Dance with me?"

Derek smiled; from the corner of his eye, he could see Stuart and Lydia dancing together as he took Stiles's hand. "Wonder if they'll get back together," he said quietly, nodding in their direction.

Stiles fitted himself into Derek's hold and, with a grace he really hadn't possessed as a teenager, started to sway. "I hope so," he murmured. "They're good for each other. I think Stuart kind of wants to marry her."

Derek chuckled. "I remember what they were like in high school; they were good for each other. I thinks it's a good thing they split for college, though."

Stiles nodded, smiling, before he suddenly became serious. "Derek?" he breathed.

Derek looked at Stiles curiously. "Yeah?"

Stiles bit his lip, his gaze dancing away from Derek's face, to the floor and back again. "I kind of want to marry you."

Derek couldn't help but laugh. "I uh, I was actually looking at some rings," he confessed. "Had it narrowed down to two."

Stiles' mouth fell open, and he stared at Derek for a good few seconds before breaking out in the biggest smile. "Well, that wasn't a proposal," he told Derek. "So when you make up your mind, I'll definitely say yes."

Derek laughed. "Glad to hear it," he chuckled, leaning in for a kiss.


End file.
